If you are looking forward to overall wellness, then you have got to know that fitness is the essence of it. Unlike the popular perception, achieving fitness is not that difficult. You can’t judge the fitness of a person by just looking at that person. Experiences have taught me that the fittest looking person might not be the one who impresses you with his or her fitness levels. So, it’s pointless to have unrealistic views about fitness. As far as fitness is concerned, the health of your heart is extremely important. Probably, you lack a typically “fit” looking body. But that doesn’t mean that you are not fit. You can be fit irrespective of the way your body looks. Cardio fitness is the real measure for fitness. If you are really serious about fitness, then you have to channel your energies to improve the health of your heart. When your heart is healthy, other aspects like increased lung capacity, strong bones, strong muscles, weight loss etc. will follow.

Understanding the concept of fitness

In today’s world obsessed with fitness, we have complicated the concept of fitness. According to the basic definition, fitness is all about your ability carry out your daily chores without fatigue. A fit person will be able to carry out his chores with alertness and vigor. Back in the day, people used to have that ability. They were all physically active. They were all fit. So, there was no need to talk about fitness. However, things have changed a lot. Lifestyle diseases have become common these days. We do very less physical activities as our jobs force us to stay glued to our seats all day long with zero physical activity. And that has contributed to lot of lifestyle diseases. No wonder why we talk about fitness more these days because we are all worried about our fitness levels. Lack of physical activities made us susceptible to all sorts of health problems.

Significance of fitness

The sedentary lifestyle has made way for lot of diseases. And people have realized the significance of regular exercise to stay fit. However, not too many are able to follow it given the hectic lifestyle. If you want to stay away from many diseases, then it is important to do cardio exercise on a regular basis. As we all know, heart disease has been one of the notorious silent killers. Stroke, diabetes, colon cancer etc. are other diseases which are connected to lack of fitness. There are plenty of benefits for regular exercise. Besides the health benefits, you will be able to control your weight as well. In turn, you will be able to fight aging too.

Psychological benefits of exercise

Exercise has many psychological benefits as well. When you exercise, it releases the feel good hormone endorphins, which significantly reduces stress. And it will elevate your mood as well. It has the ability to fight depression as well. If you are one those fitness freaks who exercise on a daily basis, then you will have a positive attitude towards life. Also, you tend to have better self-esteem. Exercise gives you better sleep at night. You never complain about fatigue either. Last but not least, regular exercise can improve your memory as well.

If you are in search for a strategy that will help increase your fitness levels though exercise and more importantly dieting then visit our online site. This informative fitness guide will give you tools to fight hunger and challenge yourself to reach your goals.

We live in a society where being thin is ideal. Images of rail-thin supermodels and waif-like movie stars adorn every billboard and television screen. We idolize people who are the thinnest of the thin-the thinnest five to ten percent of our population. It’s ironic that we’re also a nation of “super-sized” portions. The average portion size at a U.S. restaurant is more than 25% larger than our European counterparts.

Unfortunately, 64% of the American public is overweight and 33% of Americans are obese. Weight loss and maintenance are cornerstones of good health and happy living. Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, depressed mood, and more. For most, weight loss and weight management should be realities of life.

But for many a desire to lose weight or maintain weight loss doesn’t necessarily dictate success. Weight loss and weight maintenance are tough work and successful strategies vary based on how much weight a person needs to lose. Some people can succeed with diet and exercise alone; others need more invasive interventions like surgery. And even for those who are lucky enough to realize their desired weight, maintenance, although more straight-forward, can be even more difficult than the initial weight loss.

Weight loss: diet and exercise

The status of a person’s weight is best determined by their Body Mass Index (BMI). BMI is a calculation derived from dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. For the calculation-averse, a BMI calculator is available on the National Institutes of Health website.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, people with BMI’s between 18.5 and 24.9 are considered normal weight. People with BMI’s between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight. Those with BMI’s between 30 and 39.9 are classified as obese. Finally, people with BMI’s greater than 40 are categorized as morbidly obese.

For Americans who are simply overweight, self-control measures are a good place to start. Medical intervention is best reserved for obese individuals or overweight people who have medical problems or have failed self-managed diets on numerous occasions. Although exercise is important in any weight loss or weight maintenance regimen, research shows that diet is the most effective means of weight loss. A successful diet is a diet which is both balanced and calorically-restricted.

What does “calorically-restricted” mean? Everybody has a distinctive Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR is defined as the minimum number of calories needed to maintain life activity at rest. It varies based on age, activity level, genetics and sex (men have higher BMR’s than women). For example, a Mr. Universe body builder has a BMR that may be several times that of a bed-ridden senior citizen. In order to lose weight, a person must consume fewer calories than their BMR or maintain a diet equal to their minimum caloric requirements and burn off enough calories exercising to undercut their BMR.

It’s always important to take care of one using all the principles of good health. Regular check-ups, proper nutrition and healthful living all enable one to keep on top of their health in a careful yet reasonable way. Often one becomes overly concerned with health issues and caught up in a cycle of health worries. One health issue is reconciled when another immediately pops up to take its place. These worries become all encompassing and exhausting after a while.

Eventually, the individual realizes that this cycle of health anxieties has intruded upon the quality of their life. A dark cloud, always hovering over daily living, this intrusive form of anxiety has to be addressed. One begins by determining why this is occurring, what purpose it serves and how to interrupt this behavior.

Reason for Health Anxiety

Health worries actually serve a purpose and this purpose is not difficult to detect if one looks deep enough into this pattern of behavior. Often this pattern involves the brain distracting from specific emotions which the individual finds difficult to address.

Many emotions are so overwhelming, such as anger, grief or fear, that the brain looks for ways to distract. Health worries fit the bill because when one worries intensely about their health, there is little room to address an upsetting emotion.

Health worries blanket every other thought and this WORKS. This is the perfect distraction from unsettling emotions. When one worry is reconciled, another takes it place to veil the unaddressed emotion. Each health worry has a strong purpose, as it masks the true upsetting emotion, which is much more difficult to face in the long run.

Solution

– Recognition and acknowledgment of the Health Anxiety habit, one worry quickly following another in a noticeable loop that never ends. Awareness of this cycle is always the first step to reconciliation of the issue.

– Determining if this health worries is a true physical problem by visiting one’s primary physician and ruling out a definite physical cause for the difficulty. Always rule out a physical cause before assuming it is merely health anxiety.

– Noticing that these health worries settle down when you become intensely interested in another topic or swept into a new relationship, job or cause.

– Identify your patterns. Do you experience twinges of symptoms that often jump from one area of the body to another? Do you find yourself overestimating physical intrusions and instantly jump to the conclusion that they signify danger or warrant the attention of an alert?

– Find interests that involve your entire being. Lose yourself in things that allow you little time for inward thinking. True illness does not surface through boredom as do these behaviors. True health problems do not generally follow the same time table as health anxieties do. Health worries are stronger during times of boredom and when one lacks interests. An intelligent mind requires challenges and goals.

– Activity is an important therapeutic tool against health worries. Exercise and movement invigorate and stimulate the mind and body in a positive way. Endorphins are released and Serotonin levels are boosted naturally when activity is a part of a daily routine. Moderate walking, jogging, tennis, swimming and dancing are all helpful activities that bring forth positive results.

– Nutrition is also essential to good health which in itself helps eliminate the strong habit of negative thinking, often concerning health worries. When eating properly, Serotonin levels are naturally boosted and blood sugar levels remain stable. This helps settle down an over-reactive mind, leading to a lessening in health anxieties.

– Talk back to the brain by firmly telling it to stop when health worries enter the mind. Shift into a more positive mode of thinking because you always have a choice in what you think about.

The mind will respond by quieting down as negative thoughts subside. The brain, caught red handed in this behavior is instantly embarrassed causing it to suspend this cycle of negative thought. This is comparative to a child being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Embarrassment at being caught stops this intrusive behavior.

– Be aware of “what if” thinking. If the majority of sentences you think begin with “what if” then this is proof of a strong health anxiety habit. Change “what if” thinking to “so what” and watch the cycle break.

Most of all, understand that worry solves nothing. Health worries, in particular will only serve to exhaust and deplete both mind and body. Consciously make a concerted effort to change the way you think and you will succeed in changing your life. You will go from self victimization to freedom from the intrusive habit of fearful worry.